Chapter 294
Chapter 294
Iron Emperor — Chapter 294
Chapter 97: Discarding Honor with a Three-Inch Tongue, Earning a Future with a Three-Inch Tongue
The grim news from Palaka Fortress spread in an instant.
If a unit fought to the death to the last man, no intelligence whatsoever—tactics, command tendencies, anything—could be gleaned about the Holy Empire's forces. For precisely that reason, soldiers had been ordered to prioritize escape above all else whenever a situation turned unfavorable.
They teamed up with wizards, of course, and gathered visual records as well. The materials collected by these escapees proved immensely valuable in the war against the Holy Empire.
The battle at Palaka Fortress had unquestionably been conducted well.
The problem was that it had been breached far too quickly.
No, the real issue was that no one had expected the enemy to push for a breach that fast, even at the cost of such casualties. That said, the garrison of Palaka Fortress could not be blamed.
Strictly speaking, the Haian Kingdom and the Malin Kingdom, which had failed to buy enough time for full preparations to be completed, also bore responsibility. But the situation was spiraling too rapidly to pin the blame on anyone.
* * *
He looked slightly gaunt, but the characteristic composure still suffused the Marquis Public. Yet the name Gauri continued to circle ceaselessly through the Marquis's mind.
"Marquis Public, one more day's march will bring us to Pharus Castle, the greatest gateway to the capital."
"Who holds the castle?"
Count Turbes seemed to welcome the cautious demeanor the Marquis Public was displaying.
"Unusually, Pharus Castle is commanded by a Gauri general. And this particular man is something of a headache..."
"Who is it?"
"A man called the Iron Wall Hailon."
At Count Turbes's words, the Marquis Public offered no particular reply and sank into thought.
'Gauri...'
Ever since his duel with Geolmurang at Palaka Fortress, he had begun to think differently about the name Gauri.
After seizing Palaka Fortress, he had found half-finished defensive tools scattered everywhere.
Moreover, bundles of straw—the very kind that had rendered his soldiers utterly helpless—lay half-completed all around the fortress.
If the attack had been launched even slightly later, or if he had pulled his forces back for fear of heavy casualties in the first assault, the Imperial Army's losses would have been far more severe.
At the very least, these were not opponents to be taken lightly. And he had even heard the name Iron Wall Hailon, the defender of their present objective Pharus Castle, before.
Back then, he had heard the tale and simply praised it with an amused laugh, but now things were different.
"I am well-acquainted with that battle myself. But we are the Holy Empire, not North Roselin."
"Indeed."
"You may withdraw."
The Marquis Public dismissed all his staff officers, then lifted his teacup to his lips.
This war had cost him a great deal in many ways. The words he had spoken to his staff might well have been words he was speaking to himself.
* * *
"The scouts are returning!"
At the news that the scouts were coming in, Hailon dropped his meal and ran out. The gate opened and the scouting party entered.
The knight who had led the patrol spotted Hailon already waiting, dismounted, and saluted.
"You've worked hard."
"Their advance speed is faster than anticipated. Because Palaka Fortress fell so quickly, I expect they will be upon us three or four days sooner than predicted. They may appear before our eyes as early as tomorrow."
Hailon continued to press him with further questions. Only after a lengthy and relentless interrogation did he finally send the knight inside.
"Hoo."
When he recalled the footage and analyses of the battle at Palaka Fortress transmitted via the magic crystal orb, he was filled with genuine worry.
Palaka Fortress's response had certainly been adequate. But in the end, had it not collapsed through the sheer power of an enemy magic corps alone?
Despite that, Hailon had confidence.
Above all, Go Jin-cheon, the Yeolje, had personally entrusted this place to him with faith. He had promised that if Hailon held out, he would surely come to relieve him.
There was another point. Palaka Fortress had met the enemy in a state of incomplete preparation, but Hailon was different. He was confident that he had already completed every possible preparation, including the refurbishment of Pharus Castle itself.
Hailon climbed onto the battlements and stood with his cherished axe slung over his shoulder, taking a moment to steel his resolve.
* * *
The next day, the Holy Empire's army began to appear, flooding across the broad plain. It was expected, yet the reality felt somewhat different.
Perhaps because of that, Hailon summoned a wizard and kept him at his side, questioning him in minute detail about the enemy's dispositions.
"So this time they're bringing siege engines after all."
Catapult wagons were trundling forward in the distance.
At the earlier battle for Palaka Fortress, lobbing stones up a hill would have been pointless, so they hadn't been used.
But Pharus Castle was situated on almost flat ground, with little more than a low rise. The sole mercy was that it backed onto a cliff, securing its rear.
Observing the enemy camp as their forces deployed, Hailon let out a snort of laughter.
"Why do you laugh?"
Puzzled by Hailon's inexplicable mirth, Baron Paul tilted his head and asked.
"Nothing. There are just so many of them."
"Is that something to laugh about?"
"I figure if I just chuck something and shoot, it'll hit. That's why I'm laughing."
"......."
"Pfft heh heh."
Baron Paul was once again reminded that this was not a man easy to judge by common sense.
Bwoo!
The blast of war horns announcing the start of battle resounded from the Holy Empire camp. Hailon, who had been issuing various orders below the wall, dashed up to the watchtower.
"Finally, here they come."
Ranked in orderly formation, the enemy's disciplined advance drew grudging admiration. But when he thought about how the soldiers of Palaka Fortress must have felt, he knew this was no time to stand around.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!
At the sight of the Holy Empire forces advancing with a perfectly steady cadence, the expressions of the defenders hardened. Watching this, Hailon abruptly jumped down.
"What—where are you going?!"
He ought to have grown used to Hailon's unpredictable behavior by now, but whenever the man moved, Baron Paul still grew anxious. So deeply did he rely upon Hailon.
A moment later, Hailon reappeared, carrying a large drum and a drumstick in one hand.
"What do you intend to do with that...?"
"Wizard, sound amplification magic!"
Without answering Baron Paul's question, Hailon simply set the drum upright, secured it, and watched as the wizard activated the magic formula.
Since it had been set up in a relatively conspicuous spot, the soldiers arrayed along the wall soon began to wear curious expressions as well.
Hailon picked up the drumstick.
Boom! Boom!
A resonant, majestic sound rang out. The rhythm that began to pulse outward was different from the combat signals the soldiers knew.
"Huh? That sound..."
A few soldiers who had been listening carefully to the drumming started murmuring, as if they had realized something.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha!"
The soldiers had grasped Hailon's intent.
Boom! Step! Boom! Step!
The drumbeats were pounding in perfect time with the footfalls of the Holy Empire soldiers. It created the illusion that Hailon alone was moving an army of one hundred forty thousand.
"Shall we try it like this, then?"
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The moment Hailon's drumming quickened slightly, cracks began to form in the orderly ranks of the Holy Empire troops.
Unknowingly, they had grown accustomed to the drumbeats matching the rhythm of their own marching steps.
So naturally, when the drumming sped up, the soldiers couldn't help but quicken their pace to match it.
"Puhahaha!"
"Look at that!"
For soldiers about to face battle, nothing is more vital than peace of mind. And no one understood that better than Hailon. Audaciously, he had chosen to play tricks on an enemy host numbering over one hundred thousand.
Bwoo! Bwooo!
As the war horns blared from the Holy Empire camp, their advance lurched to a sudden halt. The neat battle lines now rippled and buckled, as if a wave had passed through them.
Knights galloped hither and thither among the ranks, berating the soldiers.
"It'd take you all day, you slugs!"
Now even the common soldiers began jeering and laughing at the Holy Empire troops. They had recovered their composure. A few even bared their backsides in mockery.
A single rider galloped out from the Holy Empire lines, a white flag affixed to the horse's gear.
"This'll be the surrender spiel, I take it?"
"Most likely."
The rider halted beneath the wall, and a knight unfurled a scroll and began to proclaim aloud.
"In the name of the Marquis Saint Public, acting under the delegated authority of His Imperial Majesty Shau Hwan Millior, Emperor of the Henesia Holy Empire, you are granted one final chance to live. Surrender now to the glorious Holy Empire, and in the name of the Lord God, a path to life shall be opened to you. Refuse, and death shall be your portion."
As the knight refolded the scroll and waited for a reply, furious soldiers sent up catcalls from every part of the wall.
"Silence, all of you!"
Under Hailon's orders, knights moved along the battlements, quieting the jeering men. Once the uproar subsided, Hailon stepped forward and shouted back.
"How are we to trust that those words are true?!"
It was an unexpected reply.
Even Baron Paul genuinely wondered what Hailon was thinking when he said it. But he resolved to trust him.
"This personal letter, bearing the seals of His Imperial Majesty and the Marquis Saint Public, shall prove it! Surrender!"
A short while later, a rider under Hailon's command galloped out the gate—a white flag fixed to his back, of course.
He reined his horse in before the Holy Empire knight, respectfully accepted the scroll, and returned to the castle.
At this display, unrest among the defenders began to mount, little by little.
At a moment when even a desperate call to fight to the death would hardly feel sufficient, their commander was actually bringing in the enemy's demand for surrender?
Hailon received the scroll from the knight and unfurled it.
"So this is the imperial seal, and this one here must be the marquis's seal."
"What in the world are you thinking?!"
Watching Hailon open the scroll and examine its authenticity, Baron Paul pressed him anxiously for an explanation.
"Have the knights keep the men from getting agitated."
"I need to know the reason..."
"Do as I say, if you trust me."
"...Understood."
Seeing Hailon's grave expression, Baron Paul had no choice but to comply.
"You there, fetch me a scroll."
"Yes, sir."
The knight dashed to the inner chambers and returned with a blank scroll for correspondence. Hailon picked up a writing brush that had already been prepared and, with splendid calligraphy, wrote out his reply.
"Hey, you over there, come here."